In the Dark of the Great Hall
by Bailey Matutine
Summary: Sometimes, Fred and George Weasley seem to have no filter on what is appropriate and what isn't in a prank.


It was Harry's third year at Hogwarts, and he was dreading the Halloween feast tonight. His previous two years, Halloween hadn't gone well, and this year there was an actual escaped murderer around. To make matters worse, Ron's brothers, Fred and George, had been pestering him for details of his last two encounters with Voldemort.

Despite his trepidation, Harry made his way to the Great Hall and sat down between Ron and Hermione. Looking around he could see that mostly everybody was here already, with the notable exception that Professor Dumbledore appeared to be running late, and there were a few holes in all four of the house tables where people he didn't know well enough to name were missing as well.

It wasn't long after he had sat down that all of the doors into the Great Hall slammed shut, startling everyone there, with the exception, Harry noted, as he was looking at them at the time, of the Weasley twins. Well, he supposed, a prank from them wasn't as bad as what had happened the previous two years. This would swiftly be proven incorrect.

With the doors shut, music that Harry didn't recognize began playing from somewhere he couldn't pinpoint. Shortly after this, a figure that Harry recognized all too well rose out of one of the pumpkins which were around the Great Hall as decoration. _'Oh no, they wouldn't,' _Harry pleaded to himself.

Sure enough, it was. Ginny's shocked gasp from down the table at the sight of Tom Riddle's face could be heard over the music, which simply increased the confusion and speculation from all of the other students. Several select teachers, however, were paling. Before they could take any action, the figure began to sing.

"In the dark of the night I was tossing and turning. And the nightmare I had was as bad as can be. In scared me out of my wits; a corpse falling to bits! Then I opened my eyes, and the nightmare was... me!" With this, Riddle began dancing around the room. In absolute horror on the part of those in the know, and confused interest on the part of those who weren't, the entire Great Hall stared as the next verse began.

"I was once the most powerful man in all England. When the Potters defied me they made a mistake! My curse made each of them pay, but one little boy got away! Little Harry beware, Riddle's awake!" Through this verse, more and more of the Great Hall visibly realized precisely who this 'Riddle' was supposed to be, until at the end, when everyone had caught on, Lucius Malfoy, Quirinus Quirrell, and Gilderoy Lockhart popped out of the remaining three giant pumpkins in black robes and white masks hanging around their necks to sing the chorus.

"In the dark of the night evil will find him, in the dark of the night just before dawn! Aah..." Here, Riddle chimed back in. "Revenge will be sweet," and then all four of them sang together "when the curse is complete! In the dark of the night," Riddle's three backup singers dropped away so he could sing a verse by himself.

"He'll be gone! I can feel that my powers are slowly returning! Tie my sash and a dash of cologne for that smell! As the pieces fall into place, I'll see him crawl into place! Don't tarry Harry your grace, farewell!" As Riddle began cavorting after his latest verse, Quirrel, Malfoy, and Lockhart took up a line. "In the dark of the night terror will strike him!" Riddle chimed in with "terror's the least I can do," before they continued with "in the dark of the night evil will brew. Ooh!"

Riddle, having seemingly composed himself again, threw his head back and proclaimed "soon, he will feel, that his nightmares are real!" Together, all four said "in the dark of the night," before Riddle ended it with "he'll be through!" Lockhart, Quirrell, and Malfoy continued singing on their own. "In the dark of the night, evil will find him. Find him! Ooh, in the dark of the night terror comes true. Doom him!"

Now in the middle of the Great Hall, Riddle turned directly towards Harry and sang "dear child, here's a sign," and now he was joined again for "it's the end of the line! In the dark of the night, in the dark of the night in the dark of the night..." The tone of the music abruptly changed and Riddle raised his arms and sang alone. "come my minions, rise for your master, let your evil shine! Find him now, yes fly ever faster..."

And now, Riddle wrapped up the song with "in the dark of the night, in the dark of the night, in the dark of the nigh, he'll be mine!" With the song ended, all four of the singers exploded, revealing that they had in fact been very realistic looking piñatas, when candy ended up all over the place. The twins high fived each other and began bowing to the terrified and confused occupants of the Great Hall as Professor McGonagall angrily stormed over towards them.

Just then, the doors all swung back open and Dumbledore walked in. "Terribly sorry that I'm late, pressing business. I hope I haven't dampened any spirits with my tardi- oh, did I miss something?" The headmaster gazed around at the students and the candy, and couldn't help but feel that he would have liked to have arrived on time.


End file.
